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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22882351">Found Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterRose/pseuds/WriterRose'>WriterRose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the weight of family (and the pull of gravity) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Boy Meets World</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Feels, Family Issues, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Teen Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:02:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22882351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterRose/pseuds/WriterRose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon works through the many ups and downs of parenthood and Shawn slowly learns that some of the best families can be found, not born.</p><p>Or, word gets out about the adoption and some figures from Jon's past want to meet Shawn. Both man and teen have their own inner turmoils brought to light by this development.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shawn Hunter &amp; Jonathan Turner, Shawn Hunter &amp; Topanga Lawrence-Matthews &amp; Cory Matthews</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the weight of family (and the pull of gravity) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1644805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Found Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Note: This story is a sequel to my fic “Catch Me If I’m Falling”, however it’s not necessary to read that fic to understand this one if you don’t want to. I won’t spoil the first story, but just know that Shawn is now living with Turner permanently, the events of the Season 3 episode “I Never Signed for My Legal Guardian” having played out differently. But if you do want to read the first story just know that this story will spoil those events. Without further ado, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“...and after spending a few nights in Milford we hit some of the swanky shops in Newport. That's where I got this from.” Shawn informed enthusiastically, removing the cap that read <i>’Ocean State’</i> from his head and placing it upon his best friend's head. “That's just another small part of your vacation gifts, by the way.”</p><p>Cory’s face lit up even more, if that was even possible because his cheeks already hurt - in a good way - from all the grinning he'd been doing in the past 20 minutes.</p><p>“Really?” Cory beamed, adjusting the hat carefully, as if what he just received was woven of silk and not some kind of cotton blend.</p><p>“Yep! You're also invited to when we go to Connecticut in the fall. Apparently Jon’s got some friends who own an apple orchard. He promised we’d get to go and said you could come with.” </p><p>Cory smiled to himself, recalling a silly yet genuine comment Shawn had once made about wanting to see the leaves of New England trees change in the fall. He supposed Connecticut wasn’t that far off from Vermont… “It’s awesome that Turner’s got like this whole other life you don’t know about. All these connections, I mean.” he commented.</p><p>Suddenly without warning, Shawn’s face fell into an displeased look, as if a switch had flipped. “Yeah, well, I guess I’ll be lucky if he even remembers now...” he grumbled, as though to himself.</p><p>Topanga, who for most of this long winded conversation between the reunited best friends had been admiring the seashell necklace and hand tie-dyed t-shirt Shawn had given her, looked up in curiosity at the boy’s sudden change in tone. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Nothing.” Shawn shrugged with a dismissive tone.</p><p>“Now, now, Shawnie.” Cory admonished, finally taking his doe eyes off of the gifts Shawn had given him and directing his full attention to the gift-giver himself. “We’ve talked about you internalizing your problems. And how you should not do that.”</p><p>Shawn rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Yeah, yeah…” he sighed. He remembered that painfully awkward conversation between Topanga, Cory, and himself. It was actually a little one-sided and more so a threat made by Topanga as Cory stood behind the terrifying girl with his arms crossed in a poor attempt at toughness than a conversation. “Ever since we got back Jon’s been acting...weird.” he eventually confessed.</p><p>“Did something happen?” inquired Topanga. Shawn looked up nervously at the question, making eye contact with the female ever so quickly before he nervously diverted his gaze. <i>Hm</i>, Topanga noted.</p><p>“N-Nothing.” Shawn said, almost defensively, voice stuttering ever so slightly that Topanga almost didn’t catch it. Almost. </p><p>“Something obviously happened, Shawn.” Topanga said, doing her best to keep the hint of contempt at being poorly lied to out of her tone.</p><p>“I don’t think it was anything that happened during the trip,” Shawn continued, steering the conversation. “When we got back to the apartment, Jon saw something, a letter in the mail, and there like a bajillion messages on the machine but he wouldn't let me hear or look at any of it.” he explained, running his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit. He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself of something, but what, Topanga wasn’t sure.</p><p>“Hmm.” she voiced aloud, the prospect of solving a mystery through behavioral analysis to help a friend intriguing her. Shawn wouldn’t appreciate her prying into his own behavior quite yet, but in the meantime there was nothing to stop her from analyzing her English teacher’s actions. “Well it's too late for him to start worrying about parenting you. I mean, you've been officially adopted for nearly six months now.”</p><p>“Uh, yeah…?” Shawn confirmed a bit shyly, the fact still one of slight embarrassment for him, for whatever reason. “But what does that—”</p><p>“And you say all this weird behavior started when you got home yesterday night.” the girl continued, not giving Shawn a chance to finish his question. “All the arrows are pointing to the letter and answering machine. Someone must be trying to get in contact with Mr. Turner. Someone that he doesn't want you to know about.” the blonde finished with a snap of her fingers.</p><p>Both boys stared at her with perplexed expressions, curious over who could make Jon react in such a way and how exactly Topanga always made everything seem so simple.</p><p>“I love you.” Cory declared, bewildered expression not leaving his face.</p><p>“I know.” Topanga responded with a soft pat to her boyfriend's cheek. </p><p>The letter may not be where the emotional trouble stemmed from, Topanga suspected - at least not for Shawn - but it was a start that’d give them all more time to flesh out what else may be a factor and help ease their friend’s troubles.</p><p>“Well...that makes sense…” Shawn finally agreed, confusion written all over his face. “But who would make Jon so nervous that he’d wanna hide their whole existence from me?”</p>
<hr/><p>“Your parents called?” Eli asked with raised brows, shock written all across his face.</p><p>Jon groaned as he slumped upon the kitchen countertop in dismay. “And wrote.” he simply stated. From across the kitchen’s island, Jon heard his best friend voice a gruff snort. At the realization that his friend found this amusing, he began to begrudge, “Man, this isn't funny…”</p><p>“Your reaction is kinda funny.” the other man snickered before he schooled his features. “But, uh, yeah. I can see why this has you so worked up. They haven't spoken to you in what, ten...fifteen years?”</p><p>“Yep.” Jon confirmed as he rubbed at the spot where the stress headache was emerging. The whole banging-his-head-on-the-counter probably didn’t help.</p><p>“And suddenly they're trying to contact you in all sorts of ways? Ever since you got back from your trip?”</p><p>“Yep.”</p><p>“Well, why?” Eli asked.</p><p>“Shawn…” Jon muttered so low that Eli almost didn't hear it.</p><p>“The kid?” the fellow teacher questioned once he deciphered the murmur. It was now that Eli realized that the apartment was lacking it’s resident endearing punk, as Eli liked to refer to him. “Where is he…?” Eli started, turning to look around the apartment.</p><p>“No, no, he’s not here. He went over to the Matthews’.” Jon informed, finally lifting his head off the countertop. “The messages. They're about Shawn.”</p><p>“Huh?” Eli responded smartly.</p><p>Jon gave a long, dreary sigh. “Apparently, my parents somehow found out about how I took Shawn in and now they want to meet him. With me. Meet <i>him</i> with <i>me.</i>” he elaborated, probably a bit overly complicated. </p><p>“Oh man…” Eli muttered as the severity of the situation dawned on him. “How did they even find out about him anyway?”</p><p>“I'm guessing during vacation. Either they or a family friend or something must've saw Shawn and I and told my folks about it. I wouldn't be surprised if they hired a PI to dig up the rest of the information about his adoption!”</p><p>“Neither would I…” Eli agreed, recalling the very few times he’s actually seen or heard about the people responsible for raising his best friend. Let’s just say that Jon did indeed fall <i>far</i> from that tree. “Man, this is strange.”</p><p>Jon gave a short snort that lacked all traces of humor. “You're telling me. I knew we shoulda just gone down to Jersey for vacation, but no! I had to take him someplace <i>special</i>. Someplace the Matthews never took him…”</p><p>Eli has never seen this side of his best friend before. He was a little confused but also strangely endeared. Sure, Jon could get lovey-dovey with certain females he found particularly appealing, but seeing him this put-out at seemingly not reaching the levels of familiarity the gushy Matthews family achieved on a day-to-day basis was new. </p><p>Eli has never seen Jon this...competitive, for lack of a better word. Jon seemingly had all the answers when it came to the questions of his own life, but when it came to the kid he <i>adopted</i> - Eli still couldn’t believe Mr. <i>‘I’ll-never-settle-down’</i> actually decided to take in and raise a kid full-time - Jon was flying blind. </p><p>“I'm not gonna lie to ya, Jon.” Eli started in a placating tone. “But when people see an attractive man such as yourself being all fatherly, they tend to take notice. It adds like, twenty charisma points for old people and about a thousand for chicks.”</p><p>“I really don't have time for your jokes…” Jon grumbled in warning.</p><p>“Okay, okay!” Eli placated with a few soft chuckles. “How's the little man taking all of this?” he asked in a more serious tone.</p><p>“Shawn? Oh. Fine…” Jon trailed off.</p><p>Eli sighed. “You haven't told him yet, have you?”</p><p>“<i>No.</i> He doesn't even know about the non-existent relationship between me and my folks! What am I supposed to say? <i>‘Hey, the parents who disowned me when I was a teen want to meet you for some reason, probably to just judge the two of us and our life choices. Sound good?</i>”</p><p>That checked out, Eli thought. But there was one thing he could at least do to ease his friend’s worries, if only slightly. “Well, one of your problems solved. I already told Shawn about the fight with your parents.”</p><p>Jon finally picked his head up from the table, staring at his friend with a mixture of surprise and minor horror. “What? Why? When?”</p><p>“A few months back. Before the adoption.” he shrugged. “When Melanie paid a visit.”</p><p>“Oh…” Jon trailed off, the tensity in his shoulders dissipating ever so slightly. The sting of hearing his ex-lover’s name having finally lessened after all these years. </p><p>After becoming a father (albeit in the less traditional sense), Jon’s found that things that seemed world-ending in the past don’t quite have the same effect on you anymore. Rather, you have a whole new set of worries to wreck yourself with. Like where your kid is at 10 PM, is he eating properly, is he doing well in school… Jon didn’t want to think about the hair loss-inducing stress monster that college applications would be, not to mention all the money that had to be rearranged for said college fund. Jon had already saved up a fair amount in his personal savings over the years and while he may not get that luxurious retirement in Florida quite as easily or as luxurious as he had wanted it, it’d make all the difference in the end. It would be all for his kid, after all.</p><p>Eli observed his friend for a moment as the other seemed to be lost in thought. “So, what’re you gonna tell him?” he finally asked, retrieving Jon from his musings.</p><p>“Shawn? Nothing.” Jon responded curtly. “He doesn’t need to know. I’m just never gonna answer and my parents will piss off, like they always do.”</p><p>Eli snorted once again. “That’s bull.” he stated plainly, anger underlying his tone.</p><p>To say the affront look that Jon then gave Eli was comical would be an understatement. “Excuse me?”</p><p>“The Hunter family...it’s pretty big right?” Eli asked, seemingly off topic.</p><p>“What? Yeah, I guess you could say that…”</p><p>“And how much contact has Shawn had with them since being adopted by you?”</p><p>This question gave Jon pause. “Um...not much that I know of…”</p><p>“What if it’s been none at all?” the slighter man suggested. Before Jon could formulate a response, Eli continued. “You and I both saw that tape that he and Matthews made for his old man a while back. Think about it, he’s from a big family. A big <i>shady</i> family. One that’s had it tough for generations, from the looks of it. What if none of them are too happy about Shawn’s new position in life?”</p><p>Something akin to dawning dread and realization settled in the pit of Jon’s stomach. “What’re you suggesting? You think they’re disowning him for living in a house that's not on wheels?” </p><p>“People have been disowned for less.” Eli stated bluntly with a pointed look towards Jon.</p><p>“Ouch, man…” Jon chuckled dryly.</p><p>Eli sighed once more before getting up and placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Look, man, all I’m saying is he’s been surrounded by people he’s known as family his whole life. Now, his parents have practically cut all connections with him and I’m guessing the extended family can’t be too much better than that. You’re all he’s got now, Jon. Don’t screw this up.”</p><p>“That’s what I’m afraid of. We’ve...hit a bump in the road....”</p><p>“I thought this trip was a good bonding experience?” Eli asked in genuine surprise.</p><p>“It was. It was going really good but…” Jon looked away. “Let’s just say some words were said and I think I may have scared Shawn a bit. He’s like a rabbit. One wrong move and he bolts.”</p><p>“Well that’s why you’ve gotta talk to him about your parents! How do you think he feels, you acting all shady and distant?”</p><p>Jon felt as though his face had paled. “Oh, god. He’ll think there’s a problem with him.”</p><p>“Exactly. So you gotta let him know. He’s taken on too many changes in life recently, Jon. Most if not all of which have been changes made <i>for</i> him. He needs the power to make a decision for himself. You’ve got to let him decide what he is and isn’t ready for.”</p><p>“Who’s ready for what?”</p><p>Both men suddenly turned to the door only to be met with the sight of the very teen they’d been discussing, a strange look upon his face as he took in the men’s deer-in-the-headlights expressions. “Something wrong?” Shawn asked in a tone that tried to sound casual but leaked hidden wariness. </p><p>“And that’s my cue.” Eli announced as he made his way out of the apartment. “String Bean.” he greeted Shawn with a ruffle of his hair, much to the teen’s annoyance. As the door shut behind the man, Shawn turned to look at the only adult left in the room. </p><p>“I repeat; something wrong?” Shawn asked as he stepped further into the apartment, dropping his bag by the couch with a cautious look towards Jon.</p><p>The man shook his head rather pointedly. “No, no, no. <i>No</i>.”</p><p>“Lotta <i>‘no’s</i> there, Jon.” Shawn noted warringly as he sauntered his way over to the counter.</p><p>“I know, I know…” Jon trailed, to which Shawn lifted his hand in a point and opened his mouth to speak but before he could utter a word, Jon beat him to it and ordered, “<i>Don’t</i> even bother pointing it out. I heard it too.”</p><p>The mischievous look on the teen’s face changed to one of minor disappointment as he muttered something that sounded a lot like <i>‘killjoy’</i> before grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. As the boy turned to go and enter his room it was only then that Jon recalled the subject he was stalling for.</p><p>“Hey, Shawn.” the man called out, almost hesitantly. </p><p>Said teen stopped in his tracks and turned his head. “Yeah?”</p><p>“Think you could sit down for a sec? There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”</p><p>All at once, a thousand thoughts started running through Shawn’s mind as to what Jon could possibly have to talk about. Many of the ideas weren’t happy ones yet Shawn still found himself somehow saying, “Uh, yeah. Sure…”, voice trailing off before he went and took the seat that Eli had previously been occupying, the one across from Jon. </p><p>“How was the Matthews’?” the man asked.</p><p>Shawn raised an eyebrow. “Uh, fine?”</p><p>“They like their cheap souvenirs?” Jon questioned further.</p><p>“Yeah, they liked ‘em a lot, but could you just say what you really wanna talk about?” Shawn found himself saying. It was a little ballsy and might’ve sounded a bit too anxious for him, but he couldn’t stand the thought of drawing this conversation out longer than he had to. He didn’t think he could take it.</p><p>Jon sighed. Of course the kid had to be direct now, of all times…”Do you have any family members. I mean one’s I don’t know much about.”</p><p>Shawn felt like the floor had been swept out from under him. “Well, yeah. Lots. And you not knowing much about them is just the way that they and their mob bosses like it.” he semi-joked.</p><p>Jon rolled his eyes, for the moment pushing away his worries about any actual criminal connections that could come back to bite them. “Any that’re immediate? Grandparents, aunts, uncles…”</p><p>Shawn felt something unpleasant settling in the pit of his stomach. Dammit, he knew it was only a matter of time before this came up… Despite the growing sickness he felt, he continued speaking. He owed Jon at least that. “I have a brother. And a sister.”</p><p>Jon looked taken aback. “What? Really?”</p><p>“Yep.” the teen answered in a cold tone. “But not like that. A half-brother, on my mom’s side. And Stacy’s not really related to me at all. She’s mom’s ex-husband’s kid from his other marriage. Really she’s Eddie’s half-sister…” he rambled.</p><p>“How...How old are they?” Jon asked, utterly shocked that he didn’t know this about Shawn and also slightly terrified for the other children the Hunter clan could be letting down.</p><p>Despite what he’d knew would follow these reveals, Shawn found himself answering truthfully. “They’re both older than me. Stacy’s like 22 and Eddie’s I think 19 now…” he informed, voice becoming stiffer and stiffer with each word. </p><p>“Oh…” Jon found himself answering dumbly. “I didn’t know that. They’re all pretty much adults already. Well, young adults. That’s—”</p><p>“<i>I’m sorry!</i>” Shawn suddenly shouted out, cutting Jon off mid-sentence as he quickly stood from his seat and slammed his hands on the countertop, causing the stool to topple over to the ground with a loud clang. Jon looked at him in alarm. “I’m sorry about what I said the other day, I didn’t mean it! I was stupid and I should’ve known better but I thought you were supposed to be better than this?!” Shawn all but screamed, his expression one of utter betrayal and disappointment.</p><p>“W-Wha—”</p><p>“I didn’t mean to make it weird but just because I say something like <i>that</i> doesn’t mean that you get to, to, to return me! I’m not a <i>thing.</i> I’m a person!”</p><p>“Shawn—”</p><p>“I’ll stop speaking to you until I turn 18 but you promised no more moving around! You promised I could stay! You—”</p><p>“<i>Shawn!</i>” Jon finally bellowed, startling the teen into silence and causing him to flinch, much to Jon’s horror. He placed his arms up and showed the kid his palms in a placating manner before cautiously placing a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Shawn, what the hell are you talking about? Calm down and breathe, kid. Now tell me what you think’s going on here?”</p><p>It took all of Shawn’s willpower to not shrug off Jon’s hand from his shoulder. He did end up unconsciously turning away from the man’s touch, but Jon’s hand stayed put. “You’re trying to pawn me off to one of my siblings. You’re sick of me.”</p><p>“What? Why would you—” Jon cut himself off and his face paled as realization dawned. “Oh, god. God, no, no, Shawn that’s not what’s happening <i>at all</i>.”</p><p>Shawn shamefully covered up a sniffe, blinking at the man in confusion. “It’s not?” the teen parroted, slowly straightening up from his curled in position.</p><p>“<i>No.</i> God, I messed this up…” the man muttered as if to himself before turning back to the teen. “No, Shawn, I just wanted to ask you about your family. Know more about them.”</p><p>“Oh.” Shawn simply said, wiping under his nose with the back of his arm. “Why?” he asked. Shawn felt like he talked plenty about his family. He felt like he spent half the amount of class time doing so.</p><p>“Because...Because I thought that if I knew about yours, it’d be easier to talk about mine…” Jon finally confessed with a sigh.</p><p>“Oh.” Shawn simply said. Well, now he felt dumb. And embarrassed. He really needed to work on his whole ‘trusting others’ thing that Cory and Topanga have been trying to get him to do. According to them, he needed to learn that talking about your feelings didn’t mean ruining relationships and cutting all your ties from them. It was moments like these where Shawn realized his parents really did a number on him…</p><p>“Well, there's not much to know.” Shawn hestiently started. “I don't really talk to any of my siblings. Stacy moved to Chicago with this boyfriend of her’s. No one at the park liked him but I think it's just cause he made an honest living.” he informed with a dry laugh as he picked the knocked over stool up and sat back down. He took a bite of his forgotten apple as he seemingly glared at nothing.</p><p>After Shawn didn't continue, Jon prompted, “And Eddie?”</p><p>Shawn looked to him with a strange look in his eyes. It wasn't the odd mixture of fondness and slight betrayal he seemed to reserve for his sister, but Jon couldn't exactly tell what it was, just that it made him feel an inexplicable sense of anger and sadness.</p><p>“I don't like Eddie.” Shawn simply said before averting his cold gaze once more and taking another bite of his apple, munching thoughtfully. </p><p>“Fair enough.” Jon conceded, making a mental note to find out more information on this Eddie, if possible. He took a sip of his coffee, only to grimace upon realizing it had gone cold.</p><p>“What about your family?” Shawn asked, Jon’s eyes automatically landing on him. “You said you wanted to ask about mine before you talk about yours…” the boy trailed in confusion.</p><p>“Ah, right” Jon remembered. “Eli said he already told you about what went down between my parents and I.”</p><p>“Was he not supposed to?” Shawn questioned, looking a bit sheepish.</p><p>“God knows I wasn't gonna say anything about it and it was only a matter of time till it came up, I guess.” Jon grumbled as he got up and dumped his coffee in the sink behind him and started on a new pot.</p><p>“Well, it wasn't really any of my business…” Shawn tried to defend, inspecting his apple as a means to avoid making eye contact.</p><p>Jon turned to him and leaned on the counter, trying to get into a casual position to hide the anxiousness he actually felt. “It is now.”</p><p>Shawn looked up at him. “Whaddya mean?”</p><p>Jon took a silent breath before speaking. Might as well rip the ban-aid off… “My folks tried getting into contact with me while we were away. They want to meet. More specifically, they want to meet you.”</p><p>At this revelation, Shawn seemed to mentally perk up, as if Turner had just called on him in class for an answer he clearly didn’t have. “Me? What for?”</p><p>“Don't know.” Jon revealed. “I haven't talked to them since I left home. Seems they’ve finally tracked me down and in turn, found out about you.”</p><p>Shawn was then eerily silent for a few moments, which Jon’s learned that for this teen in specific either meant that he was sleeping or thinking about something rather deeply. This occasion obviously being the latter. “What did you say to them?” Shawn eventually asked.</p><p>“Nothing.” Jon simply answered. “Didn't wanna try anything without talking to you. You're a member of this family now, Shawn. However small and decrepit it might be.” he joked before he added more seriously, “You get a say in who we let in.” </p><p>Shawn didn't really know how to respond to that. There was a part of him that felt relieved and unexpectedly happy at hearing Jon say that, but there was also a part of him that felt like he was somehow betraying the Hunter family; his real family. Who don't want anything to do with him anymore, his brain helpfully supplied… </p><p>Ever since he started living with Jon, the only people who tried to keep in contact with Shawn every now and then were Uncle Mike and Stacy, but even those calls were getting fewer and fewer with each passing month. He was lucky if he got a letter or call from Mom or Dad every month, and those were never filled with any answers to Shawn’s many questions, like ‘When are you coming back?’ or ‘Are you and Dad even together still?’ or ‘Why did you leave?’. <i>But at least they're trying</i>, he thought. Shawn could think of one family member he purposefully failed to mention, who never bothered to give <i>his</i> real family the time of day… </p><p>But Stacy was almost doing the same thing. Getting a better life for herself, even if it meant cutting ties with certain family members who were bad for her. She was making a new place in this world for herself, with a guy who seemed to genuinely care about her. Besides, there was no harm in <i>seeing</i> how the other side lived. Seeing what kind of life he was missing out there in New York… </p><p>Shawn shook the thought from his head but it was with this that he had found his answer. “You should call them. Let’s meet up.”</p><p>Jon turned to the teen, freshly brewed coffee in hand. “Really?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised.</p><p>“Yeah, actually. I think you should. If they’re trying it means they still care. Not even bothering with responses or putting any effort in to contact you…” the teen’s face turned into a scowl as he looked away, his apple seemingly souring in his mouth. “it means they don’t care. But they <i>are</i> trying.” he reasoned. “So hear them out. I mean, they’ve already kicked you to the curb. What else do you got to lose?”</p><p>Though he shouldn’t be at this point in their relationship, Jon was still slightly taken aback by Shawn’s extremely blunt yet rational response. Mostly because it made sense in a sad kind of way. If the biggest cynic he knew wanted to try mending some bridges despite his past experiences, then what type of coward would Jon be to not try himself? And what type of pseudo-father would he be if he denied Shawn a chance at a larger familiar relationship?</p><p>“Okay.” Jon finally consented. “I’ll give them a call.”</p><p>Shawn’s expression was carefully schooled, no clear emotion coming across, reminding Jon just how emotionally guarded the kid was. “Okay.” Shawn simply responded with a curt nod as he seemed to carefully inspect his half eaten apple once more.</p><p>“And hey,” Jon started, gaining Shawn’s attention once again. “if they’re pretentious assholes, we’ll just go back to avoiding them. Deal?”</p><p>Shawn’s face then split into a toothy grin, much to Jon’s satisfaction. “Deal.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’ve literally had this story in the works for like 3 years. I’m the wooooooooorrrrrrrsssst. Anyway, welcome to part 2 of this series! If you need a refresher on some things I referenced from the actual show in this fic, here’s a quick cheat sheet:</p><p>- Shawn’s sister Stacy was mentioned once in Season 1 in the episode where Cory straightens his hair. Cory’s other friend was supposed to say the line about his older sister Stacy having hair straightening products but the kid kept messing up his line so the line went to Rider Strong/Shawn. Shawn’s older sister Stacy is considered a continuity error and she’s never mentioned again, but I liked the idea of him having one and the Hunter family being quite large and “messy”, so I gave her a quick little backstory. Eddy is a punk and was in an episode or two of Season 3 or 4, I believe. He’s a jerk and I headcanon that he was probably emotionally and perhaps physically abusive towards Shawn. You probably noticed that I didn’t explicitly mention a very key half-sibling of Shawn’s. That was on purpose, stay tuned for more on that.<br/>- Jon’s from Connecticut, hence the stops they made during their vacay and why they were spotted by people who might’ve known Jon or his family (also had them stop in Rhode Island ‘cause why not?). Also it’s canon that the Matthews family would vacation on the Jersey Shore and I imagined they would’ve brought Shawn along a few times, hence Jon saying he wanted to give Shawn a special vacation experience, something that could be for just the two of them. I’m sure they looked at all the big mansions in New England and laughed at how excessive rich people are.</p><p>- Jon’s parents were extremely wealthy and he was gonna inherit their company but he wanted to be a teacher instead, so he ran away from home and was disowned. I also think he was in a sorta-arranged marriage with a girl named Melanie who was also from a wealthy family. They were expected to get married, but Jon ran off before they could. She appears for an ep in Season 3, which is what Eli is referencing when he reveals he told Shawn about Jon’s fight with his parents already.</p><p>- Just a fair warning, in this fic Jon’s parents will technically be OCs since they never did actually appear in the series, but they’ll be based off of the idea that the series gave us. So like, rich jerks. But hey, nobody’s perfect.</p><p>No idea when I'll have the next chapter ready, but please review because it really helps motivate and inspire me to do so!</p>
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